


Now That It's Over

by lululawrence



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dark Harry, Enemies to Lovers, Exes to Lovers, I'm so sorry, Jealous Harry, Kinda, M/M, can you believe that's not an actual tag, i forgot liam, it should be, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:15:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10980303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: “What are the odds we would both be at Mariano’s on a Thursday night?”Louis’ shoulders tensed.  What the hell was he doing here?“Harry?  Hi?  The odds are pretty crazy, yeah.”Harry smiled down at Louis the way he used to, but there was also a glint in his eye that Louis absolutely did not like.  Harry was also dressed in his favorite black and white striped women’s jeans and a printed shirt only he would ever be able to pull off.  It was quite rude of him to come and interrupt Louis, particularly while looking so good.  Louis hadn’t seen him since he’d finished moving his shit out of what was once their shared flat, so this being the first time seeing him wasn’t exactly providence in Louis’ mind.Or the one where Harry and Louis broke up two months ago, and Harry just might be sabotaging Louis' dates.





	Now That It's Over

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taggiecb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taggiecb/gifts).



> Oh gosh, what a mess this is, but dearest Lacey, I hope you love it anyway! I had soooo much fun writing it for you! Happiest of belated birthdays, my friend!
> 
> Biggest of thanks to [Anitra](http://allwaswell16.tumblr.com) for helping me figure out what to write for Lacey, [Tin](http://silentlarryshipper.tumblr.com) for being my ever faithful cheerleader, [KK](http://waytoomanypeopleintheaddisonlee.tumblr.com) for being the best brit picker ever, and to [Lisa](http://a-writerwrites.tumblr.com) for being so willing to give me a last minute late night beta job! All remaining mistakes are my own, please don't send this to anyone associated with the boys, etc etc etc.
> 
> This fic was also written as part of an ongoing challenge. We each select random numbers and are given a specific emotion from the book 1000 Feelings For Which There Are No Names. To read the other fics written in this challenge, [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/ShortFic_Challenge_For_Which_There_Is_No_Name/works), or you can find the masterpost on tumblr [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/159679804243/1000-feelings-for-which-there-are-no-names-prompt).
> 
> My prompt for the feelings challenge was 224: the hesitation before sending an important email. The title of the fic comes from Hate by the Plain White Ts, and with that, I hope you enjoy the fic :)

Louis looked at his bank statement and heaved a sigh.  He’d hoped he would be able to still make ends meet without Harry putting in his part, but only two months after they’d broken up and Harry had moved out and here Louis was considering moving.  He could make rent, but half of the appeal to this particular flat was Harry’s attachment to it and without him, Louis was having a hard time figuring out a reason to stay.  Especially when it didn’t leave much wiggle room when it came to the rest of his finances.

Louis closed out of his bank app, took one last peek to make sure his fringe was still in place, and grabbed his keys.  He didn’t want to be late to the first date he’s had the courage to go out on since breaking up with Harry just because he was mourning his financial situation.  

Louis couldn’t get the idea out of his mind though.  He tried to pay the full month in advance rather than the weekly payments so he didn’t have to worry about it.  His contract required a thirty days notice if he wanted to move out, so he really should be getting on and emailing his landlord should he decide it needs to happen.  

Soon, Louis promised himself.  He’ll try to make a decision by the end of the week.

His thoughts lightened up when he approached the small Italian restaurant where he was meeting Matt.  Matt worked for another company that rented another floor in the same building Louis worked in and they’d got stuck in the lift the week before.  As they waited to be rescued, they’d talked and found they had a lot in common, which resulted in Matt asking Louis on this date.

Louis was nervous but ultimately excited.  He felt like he was finally getting to a place where he was mostly recovered from the breakup with Harry.  It hadn’t been too ugly, more just that they’d got to a place where they had grown apart.  They still loved each other, but they couldn’t remember why they were together anymore.  So they’d decided it would be best to break up and go their own ways.  It had still hurt though, after being together for two years, but Louis was determined to finally start moving forward again.

Louis walked in and before he could even say hello to the hostess, Matt was smiling at him from a table near the left side of the room.  Louis indicated he knew where he was going and the hostess allowed him to walk himself to his seat, taking in Matt’s bright red hair and brown eyes.

“Hi, Louis.  You look amazing!”

Louis smiled and could feel his cheeks warm.  He’d missed this kind of attention.  He gave Matt a quick once over and found him dressed in a fitted button up and nice trousers that accented his athletic figure.  

“Thank you.  You look very nice yourself,” he said back.  

As Louis looked over the menu, Matt started them off with chatting about what had happened after they’d been released from the lift and they talked more about general things until the waiter took their order.  Once the menus were removed it felt like a bit of the formality surrounding the situation left as well, which resulted in them relaxing more as they talked about their families, favorite TV shows, and whether DC or Marvel comics were better when they were interrupted.

“What are the odds we would both be at Mariano’s on a Thursday night?”

Louis’ shoulders tensed.  What the hell was he doing here?

“Harry?  Hi?  The odds are pretty crazy, yeah.”  

Harry smiled down at Louis the way he used to, but there was also a glint in his eye that Louis absolutely did not like.  Harry was also dressed in his favorite black and white striped women’s jeans and a printed shirt only he would ever be able to pull off.  It was quite rude of him to come and interrupt Louis, particularly while looking so good.  Louis hadn’t seen him since he’d finished moving his shit out of what was once their shared flat, so this being the first time again wasn’t exactly providence in Louis’ mind.

Once it became apparent Louis wasn’t planning on saying anything more, Harry asked, “Aren’t you going to introduce me?” 

Oh  _ fuck _ no.

“Harry, as I’m sure you can see, you’re interrupting us, so if you wouldn’t mind…”

“Hi, I’m Matt,” Matt interrupted, holding his hand out to Harry.  Louis tried to hold in his groan of frustration as Harry happily turned to Louis’ date.

Harry took his hand in Matt’s and said, “Hi.  I’m Harry, Louis’ ex.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up and he suddenly seemed a lot less sure of himself.

“Ah, I see…”

“Did Louis get the aubergine parmesan?” Harry asked, placing his hands in his pockets and cocking his hip so he’s the absolute picture of nonchalance.  Louis wanted to kill the fucking bastard.  “That’s been his go to dish for Italian restaurants for ever, but you’re going to have to take some of the tomatoes.  They always add too many to his plate here and he hates that.”

“Enough about me,” Louis said, more flustered by the situation than he would like to admit.  “What exactly are you doing here, Harry?  And why don’t you get back to your own party?”

Harry turned his bright and conniving smile back to Louis.  “Oh, it’s just Gemma and Nick, and they’re having a grand time.  As soon as I saw you I knew I’d have to come over and say hi, and they said they’d hold the fort down.”

“I’m sure,” Louis said.  

“Actually, Gems was wanting to say hi herself, but wasn’t sure if you’d feel that was too awkward considering we’ve broken up and all.  Would that be okay?”

At this point Louis didn’t fucking care, he just wanted Harry gone so he could focus on Matt and the food that had just got to their table.

“Harry, now really isn’t the best time,” Louis gritted out.

“No, no.  It’s okay!  Go ahead and say hi,” Matt said, smiling at Louis.  

Louis studied his face, but he couldn’t figure out if he was offering just to be nice, or if he actually wanted Louis to do it.  Louis didn’t really want to say hi to Gemma while he wanted to kill her brother anyway, and he was on a fucking date!  Louis opened his mouth to decline Harry, but Harry beat him to it.

“See, Lou?  Mark’s okay with it.  Come on by and say hi!”

“His name is Matt, and why would I leave my date to say hi to my ex-boyfriend’s sister?”

Harry pouted a bit, jutting out his ridiculously plump bottom lip while he gave Louis his puppy dog eyes.  “Oh come on, Gems was your friend before you ever dated me.  She misses you, sweetcheeks!”

“Sweetcheeks?” Matt asked skeptically.  Louis covered his face with his hands.  How the hell did this even happen?

“Fine, you know what?  I’ll come say hi to her, but then you have to swear you’ll leave us alone to finish our date, okay?”

Harry happily agreed and Louis mouthed his apologies to Matt, setting his napkin on his seat as he followed Harry across the restaurant.

As soon as he got close to the booth where Nick and Gemma were seated, Louis heard a squeal and soon had an armful of a loud blonde.

“So Harry wasn’t lying, you apparently really did miss me?” Louis teased before Gemma pulled back and smacked him upside the head.

“Of course I missed you.  I went from chatting with you more than Haz to cold turkey, no more Louis.  It was quite cruel.  Please tell me I can quit that exercise now?”

Louis put on a front as if he had to think about it which just got him the flash of a middle finger before she eased herself back into the booth.

“I’m joking, love!” Louis laughed.  “I never said you had to stop talking to me.  Just because Harry and I aren’t together anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, yeah?”

“Oh sure.  Leave me behind, but keep my sister,” Harry grumbled.

Louis turned and glared a bit at Harry.  “If I remember correctly, it was actually  _ you _ who left, so I really don’t think you get any say in the matter.  Do you?”

That was perhaps a bit unfair of Louis considering the break up had been mutual (mostly), but Harry finally looked a bit sheepish and gave an apologetic smile.  

“Suppose not.”

“Mmhmm.”  Louis turned back to where Nick was obviously trying to hold in his laughter.  “Oh, fuck off, Nicholas.  You probably shouldn’t be laughing considering it’s your couch he’s sleeping on at the moment.  He might mess with your coffee maker again.”

Nick gasps, turning his head towards Harry so fast his quiff actually moves a bit making Louis giggle.  

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?” Harry teased, smirk right back in place.

Nick shook his head while observing both of them for a moment before finally saying, “You two may have broken up, but you’re still wreaking havoc everywhere you go.  And honestly, what are the odds that we’d all end up at the same restaurant on the same night as well, hm?”

Louis let out a nervous laugh at that, and rubbed the back of his neck.  “Yeah, uhm.  About that, I should probably get back to my date now.”

Louis watched as Gemma took a sip of her pale ale and arched a brow at Harry and Nick went back to trying and failing miserably to hold in his glee.

“You’re here on a date?  Harry actually pulled you away from a date to say hi to us miserable creatures?  Oh dear, Louis.”  Nick finally did let out a laugh here.  “Go get back to your new man, but be sure to text me later.  I want all the sordid details.”

Louis rolled his eyes.  “Whatever, dickhead.  I’ll tell you what I want to.”

Louis turned with a wave over his shoulder and began making his way back to the table.

“That’ll be everything, you know!” Nick called out, Harry shushing him to not be too loud in the restaurant.

Louis pulled himself back together again.  It was nice to see those two, and now that he’d seen them post break up with Harry, he feels like he can maybe talk with them again too.  Perhaps not like they used to, but when he hears a song that makes him think of Gemma or when Nick posts a stupid selfie with Pig again, Louis won’t think twice about reaching out in the future.  

Anyway, Louis was here on a date.  With Matt.  Who was just left all alone at their table while Louis chatted with his ex-boyfriend’s sister and best mate.  Shit.  He’ll be lucky if Matt even wants to finish this date now.

Luckily, Matt is still sitting there, with his phone pulled out while he takes a sip of his wine.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Louis said as he sat down and replaced the napkin in his lap.  “Hopefully that was enough so he’ll let us be now.”

Matt just gave Louis a small smile.  “Exes are complicated.  I get it.”

Louis nodded and picked up his silverware before realizing that Matt had waited to start eating until he returned.  

“Oh, God.  I feel really awful now.  You really didn’t need to wait for me!  I’m so sorry!”

Matt shrugged.  “My mum taught me not to start eating until everyone had their food.  You had yours, but weren’t able to eat yet so I figured I shouldn’t either.”  Matt paused and gave a wink.  “You should never go against your mum’s rules, you know.”

“Oh, I definitely know!” Louis laughed.  “As I believe I mentioned earlier, my mum is  _ not _ one to be crossed.”

The rest of the meal went perfectly, and Louis had a truly lovely time.  He maybe was a bit more nervous than he would have been otherwise because he could practically feel Harry’s eyes on him, but overall Louis thought the date was a success.

As they left the restaurant, Matt leaned in for a hug.  “I had a great night tonight, thank you.”

“Ex-boyfriend and all?” Louis laughed as he pulled back from the embrace.

“Ex-boyfriend and all.  Perhaps we could try this again, only without the ex-boyfriend?”

Louis smiled widely.  “Yeah, I’d like that.  I think I’m free on Tuesday next week, would that work for you?”

Matt looked a bit nervous.  “Actually, I know it’s only a couple of days away, but a friend of mine has an art exhibit opening up on Saturday and I’m planning to go.  He said I could bring a date if I’d like, so if you’re interested I thought maybe we could go to that?”

Louis’ eyes brightened.  “Oh, that sounds fantastic!  I do have something that afternoon though, what time is the exhibit?”

“Opening is at eight, but he said they don’t open the wine until nine, so that’s when I was planning to get there.”

Louis felt nervous excitement go through him.  He loved art exhibits and Matt truly seemed like a nice man.  He never thought he’d get so lucky right off the bat.

“Okay great.  Text me and we can work out details then.”

Matt began walking backwards down the street, waving nervously.  “Okay then.  Night, Louis.”

“Night, Matt.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis checked the address Matt had given on his phone one more time to make sure he was at the right place before stepping inside the old brick building wedged between two obviously more modern counterparts.  As soon as Louis was through both sets of doors that separated the main room from outside, he found the lighting was quite dark, aside from the use of spotlights or artistically chosen lighting to highlight the art.  It was actually a very cool concept, making it so the lighting fixtures were being used as a part of the art exhibit themselves.  Louis was so caught up in it, he hadn’t even realized there was a doorman checking names until the gentleman cleared his throat.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.  Louis Tomlinson.”

The older gentleman checked his list, found Louis’ name, and marked him off.

“Thank you for joining us.  There are hors d'oeuvres being served throughout and you can see the wine on the left.  Enjoy the exhibit.”

Louis nodded his thanks and walked over to grab a glass of white.  He hadn’t quite made it to the table, when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Louis froze on the spot, only turning his head to make sure it really was who he thought it was.

“Oh my God, what did I do wrong in a previous life?” Louis groaned as he hung his head.  “What are you doing here?”

Harry grinned and ran his fingers through his hair.  He was just messing it up, and Louis was sure he would regret it later.  Harry always took such a long time styling his hair for special occasions only to ruin it because he couldn’t stop messing with it.

“Oh, so you aren’t here because of me, then?  I’m one of the models.”

Louis scoffed.  “You’re what?”

Harry finally looked a little confused.  “You...do know whose art exhibit this is, right?  Why else would you be here?”

“I don’t actually,” Louis admitted.  “I’m here because Matt invited me.  I was just going to grab a glass of wine and then was going to find him.”

Harry bit his lip, and damn.  Louis hated when he did that, mostly because it brought attention to Harry’s lips, which just reminded him of how much he loved Harry’s lips, and he really couldn’t be having thoughts about fucking _Harry’s lips_ when he was about to meet up with his date who definitely _was_ _not_ Harry.

“Sorry, I just assumed you knew,” Harry said before reaching out and grabbing himself a glass of red.  “Thank you,” he murmured before taking a sip and handing Louis a glass of white.  “But yes, I actually am one of the models.  This is the opening for Zayn’s art exhibit he’s been excited about for something like four months now.  I’m sure you remember me talking about it at least a little bit?  From before?”

_ Before _ .  That was a simple way of putting it without actually having to say the words, but damn.  Louis did remember now.

“Shit.  He did the paintings of you, right?”

Harry nodded.  “He ended up adding a few photography pieces as well for one of his multi-media pieces as well.”

“Fuck.”  Louis took a deep breath and sighed.  “Wait, if this is Zayn’s exhibit, then how does Zayn know Matt?”

“We’ve known each other since sixth form, actually,” Matt said, coming up beside both of them.  “Lost touch during uni, but ran into each other again just a few weeks ago so he invited me to the exhibit.  Didn’t realize you already knew him, that’s a bit of a surprise.”

Louis smiled at Matt awkwardly.  It probably looked really bad that he was once again talking to his ex-boyfriend instead of his date, but it wasn’t really his fault that he stumbled upon Harry before Matt, right?

“Louis!”  Louis looked over Matt’s shoulder and found Zayn walking towards him.  He looked fantastic.  He had his hair longer on the top with an undercut and the tips looked to be a bit green, though Louis wasn’t sure if that was how he actually had it colored or if it was just the lighting.  Either way, he looked like he’d just stepped out of a Versace ad, and Louis realized how much he’d missed him.

“Hey, big timer!” Louis cried.  He reached out for a tight hug and he got it.  Zayn smelled like leather, cigarettes, and the floral fabric softener he refused to change from because it made him think of his mum.  “Looks like you’ve done well for yourself.”

Zayn pulled back and shrugged.  “You knew about it from the beginning, just probably forgot without Harry droning on and on about it.”

“Hey,” Harry whined.  “I’m just really proud of my friend and the work he’s put into his art, okay?  Not many people can have exhibits for themselves this young.”

Zayn smirked.  “More like you’re just excited to be the subject of some of the art, yeah?”

They all laughed while Harry pouted and Zayn finally realized there was someone else in the group.

“Oh, hey!  How do you two know Matt?  How you doing, bro?” 

Matt and Zayn leaned in for a traditional manly hug, complete with loud pats on the back and all, and when they pulled back, Matt said, “Uh, well.  Louis’ my date tonight.”

At that, Zayn raised his eyebrows.  “Oh shit.  You’re Matt’s Louis?”

Louis blushed at that and out of the corner of his eye he could see Matt also blushing.

“Erm, I guess so?”

Zayn smiled a bit and looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye.  Harry, as far as Louis could tell, was acting like it was no big deal and had his hands tucked into his wide leg pinstripe trousers.  Damn Harry Styles and the way he looked delectable in literally anything he put on.  It was creating an inner turmoil for Louis that he didn’t want to have to deal with.

“Okay then.  Well, I hope all of you enjoy yourselves, don’t drink all the wine.  I’ve got to go schmooze.”  And with that, Zayn was off and the three of them were left alone again.

“So, have you had a chance to start looking around yet?” Matt asked.  Louis focused on him, hoping that Harry would get the hint and leave them alone.

“Uh, no.  Just got here a few minutes before you found me,” Louis smiled. 

Matt returned it, though he was looking a bit unsettled again.  Louis didn’t blame him.  They’d really been hoping to have a date where it actually was just themselves without any run-ins with Harry, and here that hope was already down the drain.

“Okay, well let me grab some wine for myself and then perhaps we can get started.”

Louis agreed and began to look around the space again, hoping and praying that Harry was walking away.  Now that he knew it was Zayn’s art on display, the entire setup made sense, and he began to recognize the style.  He had a couple of Zayn’s pieces hanging on the walls of his flat, but those were mostly from years ago.  His style had changed quite a bit recently, and Zayn had just blossomed in his new works.  Louis couldn’t wait to see the final products on display.

Matt returned and gently touched Louis’ forearm.  “Shall we start on the left?”

“Oh, yes.  Definitely start on the left.  The journey through the pieces is far more cohesive than if you start on the right,” Harry spoke up.

Louis could feel his temper begin to flare again.  Had he really not left them yet?  They’d made it quite obvious this was a date and one he was not invited to.  Why was he still there?

“Yes, thank you for that thought.  Why don’t you go off and chat with some of your other friends that I’m sure are here?” Louis asked while motioning with his free hand towards the rest of the room.

“Oh, I already spoke to them and you two are far more interesting.  Besides, I can give you a tour this way, and give you background details about the art and the process for many of them!”

Harry, the smug bastard, looked quite pleased with himself and the proposal he had just put to them, but Louis was anything but.  What the hell did Harry  think he was doing? 

“That’s really not necessary, Harry,” Louis argued.  He gave Harry a pleading look that he  _ knew _ Harry recognized but was ignoring, the fucker.

“I’m sorry.   Again,” Louis murmured to Matt.  “I honestly had no idea…”

Matt somehow still smiled at Louis and said, “It’s okay.  How could you?  Just means we’ll have to give it another try, right?”

Louis huffed a quiet laugh in gratitude of this patient man.  “Yeah.  Third time’s a charm, right?”

 

*~~***~~*

 

It had been two hours -- two fucking hours -- and Harry had yet to leave their side.  Louis and Matt have barely had a word to themselves and to add to it, one of the photographs of Harry used in one of the pieces was essentially a nude.  Harry was never a shy man to begin with, and anyone would be willing to admit that he had an incredible body, but to have him standing beside them describing the feelings that Zayn was trying to capture with the piece while Louis and his date were trying to have some time to themselves wasn’t exactly ideal

“There’s such vulnerability and trust when one is sleeping, and that’s truly what he was trying to go for with this.  That the vulnerability can be completely captured, but at the same time pulled away in a second, and it all depends on the circumstances.  It’s quite beautiful.”

Louis stared at the piece that merged photography, painting, and metalwork and it  _ was _ beautiful.  It just also was beyond grating on his nerves that he couldn’t be left to enjoy it with Matt.  Alone.  It was hard enough knowing they were looking at such an intimate photo of his ex-boyfriend without having to hear his fucking deep voice never stop talking.  

“Is that your own bed?” Matt asked, pointing to the photo of Harry lying face down in what looked to be red silk sheets without a shred of clothing on him, his face turned to the side to feign sleep.  “Looks dead comfortable.”

Harry chuckled and Louis was already bracing himself.  Why did Matt need to ask that question?  The answer Harry was going to give would never be to Louis’ liking and he already knew Matt wouldn’t particularly care for it either.  

“No, I don’t currently have a bed.  Left that to Louis in the flat.”

Louis closed his eyes and groaned.  “Holy hell, Harold.  You don’t have to say shit like that!”

Harry shrugged.  “Sorry.  But yeah, this is Zayn’s bed.  I did love the silk sheets, but it made it quite difficult to keep the pillows and blankets in place because they’d just slide right off.  In case you were considering such things.”  Harry grinned at them innocently, and Louis just continued trying to shoot daggers with his eyes.

Louis was so focused on Harry hanging with them for every moment of the night, that Louis hadn’t even realized they’d gone through all of Zayn’s pieces.

“And there you have it.  The build from innocence to guarded self protection to chosen vulnerability.  Quite a beautiful narrative arch, if you ask me.”

Louis had to agree with that at least.  When looked at in that way, the pieces in that order were very poignant.

“So what are your plans now?” Harry asks, turning to two of them with his hands still in his pockets like he didn’t have a care in the world.  “Are you planning to stay and mingle?  Grab a bite to eat?  Go and check out our amazing bed at Louis’ flat?  It is very comfortable, you know.”

Louis’ jaw dropped open.  He did not just say that.  “What the actual fuck, Harry?!”

Harry just tilted his head to the side and assessed the outfit that Louis had spent hours deciding on earlier that evening.  Louis’ vision was going red and he was getting to the point where if Harry said one more thing wrong, Louis wasn’t even sure what he was going to do.

“Oh come on, Lou.  I know what your sex drive is like, and if I’m not mistaken, those are your ‘fuck me’ jeans.  That scoop neck wasn’t chosen lightly either.  You know what your collarbones look like and I was never able to resist them myself.”  In saying that, Harry practically leered at his collarbones and that was it.  Louis was done.

“Fuck you,” Louis said, imbuing the words with as much anger and hurt as he possibly could.  “Come on, Matt.  Let’s get out of here before I punch him.”

Louis spun around towards the door and stalked out, holding tightly to what little dignity he had left.  He wasn’t even sure if Matt was with him or not and at this point he didn’t care.  He just needed to get out of the same room as that arse. 

Louis stopped by the curb and turned to see he wasn’t too far behind.  Matt wasn’t even fully out the door when Louis began ranting.

“Oh my God, what a dick!  I’m so sorry!  I swear he was never like that while we were together.  I have no idea why he’s acting like that now.  But honest to God, I was about to punch him!  What right did he have saying that shit?”

Louis was pacing in front of the building while Matt just watched helplessly.  Louis was pulling at his hair in frustration and he did his best to not cry.  What the hell was going on?

“Are you okay?” Matt asked tentatively.

Louis stopped, heaving in breaths with his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were probably white.  “Yeah.  No?  I think I am, but I’m just so fucking mad.”  Louis could feel tears building up and he really did  _ not _ want to cry in front of his date.  He finally built up the courage to look up and try to figure out what Matt was thinking and feeling by looking him in the eyes.  Unlike with Harry, Louis couldn’t read a thing.

“I think...tonight has been a bit more than either of us anticipated,” Matt said slowly.  “But I meant what I said before.  I am willing to give it another try if you are, and we can hope that we can finally do something that doesn’t have Harry lurking somewhere.”

Louis let out a wet laugh.  “Yeah.  That would be preferred.  I really am sorry.”

Matt shook his head with a soft smile.  “It really isn’t your fault.  There’s no way we could have known.  I’m sorry it was so awful for you.”

“Matt,” Louis said a bit bitterly.  “I know it wasn’t just awkward for me, okay?  I’m sorry you were subjected to that too.”

“He’s quite intimidating, isn’t he?” he chuckled.  “He’s got such an intense stare, and he just holds himself with such confidence, you feel like you can’t really go against him!”

Louis laughed.  “He only does that when he’s showing off or feels like he has competition.”

At that, Matt was quiet.

“What?” Louis asked.

“Is that what he sees me as?  Competition?  Was he showing off for you?”

Louis opened his mouth to speak, but what Matt said got him thinking.  Was it?  Was Harry doing all of this not to be a dick to his ex, but because he was showing off?  Why would he be showing off or view Matt as competition when they’d broken up months ago?  He had no reason to, unless...

“Listen, Louis.  I know you broke up awhile ago and that you said you were ready, but if you aren’t and there’s actually some unfinished business you need to attend to with Harry, just let me know and I’ll back down.  Okay?”

Louis nodded.  “I...don’t think there is?  Can we try once more?  I really do like you, Matt.”

Matt’s warm eyes crinkled a bit as he smiled.  “Yeah.  You’re definitely worth one more chance.”

“Thank you,” Louis whispered.  “Is it okay if we call it a night, though?  I’m a bit exhausted after all of that, if I’m honest.”

“Course.”  Matt opened his arms.  “Hug?”

Louis nodded and let himself relax into Matt’s embrace.  It had been ages since he’d had someone hold him like this, but Matt felt so different from Harry, smelled different from Harry.  Not bad, per se, just... _ different _ .  Matt’s smell was of pepper and sandalwood, not the mango peppermint that Louis still associated with home since the scent that permeated the flat from all of Harry’s candles and essential oils hadn’t fully dissipated yet.

“Thanks again,” Louis murmured as he pulled back.

“Thank you for giving me another chance,” Matt said with a smile.

“Have a good night.  We’ll talk more later, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And with that, Louis walked away back to his lonely flat.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis sat and stared at the computer.  He had finally come to the conclusion that he just couldn’t continue living on pot noodles and a prayer that he’d be able to make rent.  Work was ramping up his projects and the stress associated with that was enough, he didn’t want to have to worry about whether he’d be able to pay his rent and phone and food.  Something had to give.

He just...the flat was a big deal.  He and Harry had chosen it to last them so they could hopefully one day even bring children into it.  There were a lot of hopes and dreams all tied up in the bricks that Louis just wasn’t quite sure he was ready to let go of yet.  Especially considering the fact Harry hadn’t left his mind ever since his disastrous date with Matt on Saturday.

Harry had been a complete and total arse.  That was undeniable.  The question was, why?  Louis’ Harry never acted that way with anyone, least of all him.  He was the kindest man who would fight about something he felt was important and could be stubborn to a fault, but outside of the occasional petty action, he was the nicest person Louis had ever met.  Harry’s mum once said he had a heart of gold and boots to match, and Louis never had reason to disagree.

It was true, what Louis had said to Matt on Saturday.  Harry usually stood with his shoulders relaxed to the point where it looked like he was trying to cave in on himself, but he hadn’t done that either time they’d run into him last week.  He’d been sure to stand to his fullest height and kept that fucking cocky grin on the entire time.  That was what he did when he felt challenged.  Threatened.  

Jealous.

That word had been running through Louis’ mind for the past three days.  It was Tuesday night and he really needed to actually be able to sleep tonight, because he had a presentation to show where he was in his most recent assignment with his boss as well as the VP of sales and he’d rather not mess that up, but the thought of Harry still feeling enough for Louis to be jealous over his date was just…

That was the problem, wasn’t it?  Louis didn’t know how to feel.  But if he was being completely honest with himself, what he thought was beneath the mess of emotions covering the surface was excitement.  

Louis had always been weak for Harry’s attention and affection and Harry had always been eager to give it.  It was one of the reasons their relationship moved as quickly as it did.  They’d only been dating for a month before they moved in together, sure that what they had would last.  Little did they know that with work demands creeping up and the stress of trying to make it in demanding fields, they would lose sight of how important they were to each other within just a couple of years.

Louis hovered over the send button, all of these thoughts whirling together and coming around to his decision to give up the flat.  He didn’t want to, he wasn’t really ready to.  And with Harry acting how he was, would he want Louis to?

Louis shouldn’t care what Harry thinks now, they broke up months ago, but he did.  He cared.  And based on Harry’s actions last week, Harry cared too.  Louis bit his lip and hit the save draft button.  He could always send it another day if he still felt it was best to give up the flat.  But for now, Louis was feeling hopeful.  He hadn’t felt that way in regards to Harry in a while.  He just couldn’t ignore that.

 

*~~***~~*

 

And here he was.  Ready for date number three with Matt.  Louis was so conflicted about his feelings regarding Harry, that he figured this date was probably going to be the last.  It just wasn’t fair to Matt anymore, and he’d already put up with so much from Harry himself that Louis couldn’t allow himself to force Matt to deal with Louis’ insecurities as well.

He walked into the fancy restaurant and was greeted by a smiling face at the host stand.

“Hello!  Do you have a reservation this evening?”

“Yes, I believe it’s under Matt Harmon,” Louis answered, looking around.  He’d never been to this particular restaurant, though he had wanted to.  It was just a bit more posh than what he and Harry had frequented before they broke up and he hadn’t had a reason to go afterwards.  Until now.

“Ah, yes.  Just this way, Mr. Styles.”

Louis’ brows furrowed in confusion.  “I’m sorry?  No, I’m not Mr. Styles, I’m not sure how you got that name.  But mine’s Tomlinson.  Louis Tomlinson.”

The host just gave an innocent smile and said, “Of course.  My apologies.  Here is your table, Niall will be taking care of you while you wait for your dining partner.”

Flustered at the situation and the odds that Louis would be called by Harry’s last name at all, Louis sat down and just stared at the silverware laid out neatly on a napkin.  Louis picked up on the one folded on top of the plate and placed it in his lap.

“Hello, and welcome to Higgins.  I’m Niall and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.  Our wine special tonight is a lovely Pinot Grigio that has delightful nutty and caramel undertones.  Might you be interested in a glass while you wait?”

Louis smiled up at the Irishman who emanated a calm vibe.  That was just what Louis needed.

“Yes, that sounds amazing.  Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Styles.  I’ll be sure to inform you when Mark has arrived.”

Louis was now incredibly confused.  “It’s Matt, not Mark.  And my name is Louis Tomlinson, not Styles.”

“Very sorry, sir.”  Niall smiled, and whisked away.

“So weird,” Louis muttered under his breath.  Luckily, before Niall could return, Matt was escorted to the table by the host.  Louis stood and gave him a small hug, before returning to his seat.

“Hey, random question, did you give them my name when you made the reservation?” Louis asked, replacing the napkin in his lap.

“Oh, yeah.  I always have the hardest time remembering whose name I put the reservations under, so I always give them both so I don’t have to worry about it.  Weird quirk, sorry.”  Matt smiled charmingly, before asking, “Why do you ask?”

“Well,” Louis hedged.  “You gave them the name Louis Tomlinson, right?”

“Course,” Matt confirmed.  “What other name would I have given?”

“Here’s your wine, Mr. Styles,” Niall said, placing the glass in front of him and pouring a healthy amount inside, seemingly unaware of Louis’ gesture towards Niall indicating to Matt the reason for his questions.  “And good evening, Mr.  _ Hamron _ .  I’m Niall and I’ll be taking care of you tonight at Higgins.  Would you like to start with a glass of Pinot Grigio as well?”

“Uh, I’m sorry.  I’m afraid you’ve mixed up our names.  I’m Matt  _ Harmon _ and that’s Louis Tomlinson.”

Niall’s smile didn’t falter in the least.  “My apologies, sir.  What would you like to drink tonight?”

Matt just observed him, and said, “I’ll have a glass of the Pinot Grigio as well, thank you.  And you can call me Matt.”

“Of course, Mark,” Niall said as he poured the wine and then stood back up.  “I’ll give you gentleman a little more time to look over the menu and then I’ll be back to take your orders.”

Once Niall was out of earshot, Louis said, “See what I mean?  He called you Mark before as well and I corrected him then too!  And everyone keeps calling me Mr. Styles!”

Matt’s lips pursed.  “Isn’t Styles Harry’s last name?”

Louis groaned and leaned his head back.  “Yes!  It is!  But how the hell would they know that?  Or was it just luck?  And why is Niall insisting on calling us by the wrong names?  Do you know Niall?  Because I don’t!”  Louis was so entirely flummoxed, he didn’t even know what to think of the situation.

Matt shook his head.  “I have no idea.  I’ve been here several times before, but I’ve never experienced anything like this.”  His eyes brightened when he smiled before he said, “The food, however, is amazing.  So definitely look it over and choose whatever you would like.”

They sat in silence and Louis easily chose a delicious sounding chicken dish, leaving him time to look around.  He saw Niall typing on his phone in view of the customers, which his boss probably wouldn’t like, but what did Louis care?  Niall looked up from his phone to see Louis watching him, and he just flashed a smile, winked, and then went into the kitchen.

Louis turned back to Matt but it seemed like only seconds had passed before Niall was placing a salad bowl on the table.

“Here you are, Mark.  Are you two ready to order?”

Deciding the names weren’t going to be corrected no matter how hard they tried, they went ahead and ordered their meals, then went on with talking about their weekends.  They had just finished their meals, the entire time being addressed by the incorrect names, when Louis overheard Niall’s easily recognizable voice from the working station.

“So then I told Harry, ‘I don’t want to mess things up with Gemma, alright?’...” and Niall continued on, but Louis heard none of it.  

He stood up without even thinking and walked over to the working station and tapped Niall on the shoulder.  Upon seeing who it was, Niall’s smile stayed in place, but his eyes grew worried.  Good.

“I’m sorry, but are you talking about Harry and Gemma Styles?”

Louis watched as Niall swallowed hard before nodding his head.

“Yeah, uhm.  Gemma’s my girlfriend?”

At that Louis began laughing so hard, he bent forward with the force a little.

“Oh my God, I knew you were screwing with the names on purpose!” Louis wheezed out.  “What the hell, man!  Did Harry put you up to this?  How did he even know?”

Niall probably thought he was insane, but Louis now had tears streaming down his face.  He couldn’t help it.  All of his frustration and confusion and total loss on what to do surrounding the entire situation had finally come to him standing here, laughing so hard he was crying in front of a stranger at a fancy restaurant.

“I, uhm.  I may have heard your name batted around a bit over the past couple of months since you two broke up around when me and Gems met, so I texted him.  And he said he’d slip me a tenner if I just messed with your names a bit.  So I changed them on the reservation list and yeah.”  Niall shrugged and Louis was finally calming down enough to wipe his tears away.

“Oh my God.  Okay,” Louis chuckled again.  “Shit.  Alright.  One last question.  Actually, you know what, I’ll just ask Harry myself.”

Louis turned around and walked back to the table, where he didn’t even bother sitting down again.

“Matt, I’m so sorry.  This has been a series of disasters from the moment we met in a broken lift until now.  You don’t deserve this, and I just can’t bring myself to keep you going on like this either.  Thank you so much for the incredible dinner, but I’m afraid I have to go.  I wish you the best of luck in the future, you absolutely deserve it.”

Louis smiled at Matt, who just gave an understanding smile back, knocked his knuckles on the table, and then walked out of the restaurant.  Now the only question was what to do with Harry.

 

*~~***~~*

 

It didn’t take long for Louis to decide he needed to see Harry in person.  He’d texted Nick to find out Harry was at his place alone at the moment, so that’s where Louis headed.  He still was pretty much going through periods of hysterical laughter over the entire situation because, if he was being honest, because having Niall change their names was hilarious, but Louis was also feeling incredibly excited to finally have the upper hand with Harry.

Louis parked down the street from Nick’s flat and was happy to find someone leaving the building so they were able to let him in without needing to buzz Harry and let him know he was there.  Louis wanted to surprise Harry for once in all of this.

Louis jogged up the stairs to Nick’s first level flat and knocked on the door repeatedly until he finally heard Harry’s deep voice saying, “Okay, okay!  I’m coming!”

Louis licked his lips and clasped his hands in front of him so he was in a good power stance by the time Harry got the door opened.  When he finally did, Louis was glad he seemed frozen in shock, because Louis needed to get over how gorgeous he looked.

Harry was always beautiful, but Louis’ favorite version of him was when he was dressed down in an old band tee with some joggers and a headscarf he would usually never be seen in public with, and that’s exactly what Harry was wearing right now.

“ _ Lou _ ?”

“Did Niall really not tip you off that I might be coming by?” Louis teased, and Harry’s eyes widened.  Ah, well.  At least Niall could keep some things to himself, it seemed.  “Are you going to make me stay out here?  Nick seemed under the impression you’d let me in if I stopped by.”

“You talked to Nick?” Harry asked, before shaking his head and stepping back so Louis had space to come through the doorway.  “And sorry, course you can come in.  Was just caught off guard.”

“That was the plan.  I wanted to be the one in the know for once,” Louis smirked, kicking off his shoes.  “Were you sabotaging my dates on purpose?”

Harry’s eyes widened.  “Sabotage?  That sounds a bit too serious for what I was doing…”

“Really?”  Louis cocked his hip.  He was wearing an outfit that he knew showed off his shape, and he was going to use it to his advantage and fluster Harry as much as possible.  “So what would you call it then?”

Louis threw himself onto Nick’s overstuffed couch and knew that’s where Harry had been sleeping.  It smelled like his mango scented shampoo.

“I would say it was more like running minor interference?” Harry said, his face contorted into something that indicated he was thinking quickly and trying to be convincing at the same time.  He hadn’t changed one bit in the two months they’d been apart.

“And why is it you had Niall change my name to yours?”

At that, Harry blushed but didn’t say anything.

“Harry?”  Louis’ voice was much quieter this time.  Softer around the edges, less demanding.

Harry took a deep breath, but met Louis’ eyes for the first time since he’d let Louis into the flat.  “Yeah?”

“What were you hoping to achieve by messing with my dates?”

Harry bit his lip and continued the eye contact, but still didn’t say anything.

Louis stood up again and slowly made his way across the room where Harry was still standing, stock still.  

“Did you just want me to not keep seeing Matt?  Or was it more that you want to be the one going on dates with me?”

Louis tilted his head forward so he was looking up through his eyelashes at Harry.  He knew it was unfair, because this angle set off his cheekbones just right and along with his long eyelashes, Harry didn’t hold a chance.  At least, Louis hoped he didn’t.

“Why’d you do it, Harry?”

Harry’s hands reached out and rested on Louis’ hips before he leaned forward and rested his forehead against Louis’.  His eyes were closed now, and Louis could see the open vulnerability that Harry always used to have with him.

“I just missed you so much, Lou.  I didn’t think you’d want anything to do with me after I basically insisted we break up, and then I ran into you on that date.  I couldn’t help myself.  I was just so sad it wasn’t me there with you.”

Louis was doing the best he could to calm his breathing and his racing heart so he could still hear what Harry was saying so softly.

“I want you back, Lou.  Please tell me you aren’t serious with that guy.”  Harry opened his eyes and the earnestness in them added to his plea.  “Please say you’re willing to give us a try again.”

Louis was certain Harry could see all of his emotion laid bare in his own eyes, but he didn’t want to give in so easily.

“I have one condition,” Louis said, his voice rough with the tears that seemed to settle in his throat.

“What’s that?”

Louis chuckled a little.  “You have to swear to me you won’t act like an arse anymore, because babe?  That wasn’t an attractive look for you.”

“Oh God,” Harry whined, eyes closed again.  “You left Zayn’s exhibit and I couldn’t even believe what all I’d said.  Please forgive me?”

“Are you actually sorry for it, then?” Louis teased.  “That didn’t really sound like an apology to me.”

“Of course I’m sorry!” Harry said, pulling back from Louis a bit.  “Well, I mean.  I am mostly.  It still got you back here, so I’m kinda not, but I swear I won’t be a wanker to you or anyone else on purpose anymore.”  Harry wrapped his arms around Louis fully so he was cradling Louis in his embrace.  Louis loved it when Harry held him like this, it was like he was fully engulfed in his smell and protection.  “I just want to take care of you again, Lou.”

“Okay,” Louis said.

“Okay?”

Louis nodded his head.  “Yeah.  Let’s give this another try.”

“Thank God,” Harry whispered before pulling back and meeting Louis’ mouth with his own.  “Take me home, love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave kudos and nice comments, and if you really love me, I'll send you a plate of warm, homemade, virtual brownies for reblogging my fic post [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/160986275098/now-that-its-over-by-lululawrence-for-taggiecb).
> 
> Interested in helping support charities with fanfic? If you are, I could write a fic for you! Check out the info [here on Tumblr](https://1dfanworksforcharity.tumblr.com/post/174494969280/1d-fanworks-for-charity-auctions-for-lululawrence).


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